That's What You Get
by KatyKalamity
Summary: When Addison is finally going to move on, Seattle comes back to haunt her. How will she deal with it? All Grey's couples. Maybe Addisex or Paddison. and Dell OC.
1. Misery Business

A/N: I have had the first few chapters of this story written for the longest time, I just haven't had time to post it. So here it is. Enjoy!!

Disclaimer: Not mine. Obviously.

--

Friday. The end of the week. Better known as the best day of the seven. Every Friday the employees of the Oceanside Wellness Group go to a bar called On The Water. It could be described as the LA version of the Emerald City Bar, but with a dancefloor, no dusty pool table, and best of all? Pete wearing new jeans.

Pete refused to be feminine about clothing, so it was rare when he actually bought new jeans. With his non-feminine pact aside, he was a bit hurt that no one had noticed.

But Addison had noticed. Oh she had noticed. These jeans had no tears on the knee and were considerably darker than the others. She just didn't want to say anything. What if she sounded like a freaky stalker? Or worse, what if it sounded like she liked him? That she couldn't handle.

Her new green hobo bag/purse thing started vibrating furiously. She rifled through reciepts, pens, lipstick and gum wrappers and finally unearthed her BlackBerry. One new text message from: Naomi-Stop staring at Pete." Addison grinned, the phone's light reflecting off her perfectly white teeth. She rolled her eyes and dropped her phone in the bag (thing) and tossed it on the table.

She perched herself on the edge of the table and her eyes were drawn to Pete. He caught her eye and grinned. Their smiled faded but they refused to look away. Pete's pocked lit up and he looked down quickly. Pete flipped open his black Razr. One new message from: Sam: "Stop it." Pete looked back where Addison had been standing but she was talking to Violet.

"You're distracting me," she was saying. Pete pretended to be in the middle of an important call so he could eavesdrop.

"Is that good?" Violet asked.

"Oh yeah," she nodded, eyes wide.

"Just dance with him."

"Temptation means nothing to you does it?"

Pete snuck up behind Addison and winked at Violet. "Would you like to dance?" As if by magic, the song changed from a slow waltz to a pulsing hip hop song. Addison looked petrified. She looked back at Violet. Violet waved at the air with her hand, telling her to go.

"You love to dance," she said. Addison widened her eyes.

Pete spun her around. "Trust me." Addison finished her martini with a flourish and felt the alcohol cloud her brain.

Sam wagged a warning finger at Pete and Naomi mime-strangled Addison. Pete turned from Sam in time to see Addison get mime-choked. She blushed guiltily. Pete led her to the dance floor and they stared at each other awkwardly. A goofy grin spread across their faces and they nodded.

Pete pulled Addison close so her back was pressed to his muscular chest. He took her hands and placed them around her neck, then slid his arms down her sides to her waist. She laid her head back on his shoulder and closed her eyes.

Violet giggled. "Steamy," she said, nudging Cooper.

Cooper grinned at her. "Wanna dance?"

"No."

"Me either," Cooper's face turned scarlet and he turned away.

Naomi stomped over, smoke practically coming from her nostrils. "I can't believe this. It's like watching porn. There are children here!"

Violet covered her mouth to stifle a laugh. "There are no children here."

Naomi's anger faded and she laughed. "There's Dell."

"And they're wearing clothes," Cooper pointed out.

"Besides, Dell's dancing too," Violet jerked her head. Dell was dancing closely with a busty blonde. She shook her head like there was water in it. "And what about clothes?"

"They're wearing clothes," Cooper repeated. "It isn't porn if there's clothes." Naomi rolled her eyes.

"You would know," she retorted. Violet giggled, sipping a beer.

"Everybody hates a literalist," she said apologetically. She looked up and caught Pete kissing Addison's neck.

"Eewww!" everyone shuddered.

"What're we watching?" someone asked

"Porn." everyone answered.

"That's what California is famous for, I was just hoping it wouldn't be with my ex-wife."

Naomi glanced up. "Derek!" she squealed, throwing her arms around his neck.

"And company," Mark said. Instead of hugging Naomi, he shook her hand. Behind him, a handful of doctors filed in.

A tall blonde was closely followed by a wimpy looking man with wavy dark hair. After him came a blonde so small she seemed to be withering away. A tall black man was closely follwed by a short intimidating woman. A scary looking woman with long black hair followed. Bringing up with rear was a handsome brunette man and a bored looking Asian woman.

The handsome younger man watched Addison and Pete with a look that bordered on jealously. Was this the infamous Alex Karev? The song ended with a final creschendo and Addison looked up.

When she saw all the doctors, she dropped Pete's hand and Naomi distinctly saw her mouth form the word, "Shit."

--

"What? What's wrong?" Pete reached for her hand again but she ran her hand through her hair nervously. "Addie, breathe."

Addison exhaled and almost exhaled tears. Pete pulled her into a hug. He could feel her breath on his neck. Well, at least she was breathing again.

"I left Seattle without saying goodbye," Addison said, her voice muffled.

"And-?"

"And they're here," Addison gestured frantically to the group of MDs.

"Really? Well then let's go say hi," Pete said cheerily.

Addison caught him by the shoulder. "Let's not."

"Addie, you're being ridiculous."

"Addison warmed at the way her nickname sounded when he said it. "You don't understand!"

"What don't I understand, Addie? Tell me."

"That's my ex-husband, ex-boyfriend and ex...thing standing a few feet away." Pete knew she wasn't saying everything, but he didn't want to push her. He turned around and sized up all the men.

"I can take 'em," he said, proudly displaying the slow healing cut on his hand. "Pete the gladiator, remember?"

Addison groaned. "Don't remind me."

Pete put his hands on her waist and gave her a push. When all the men looked, he took her hand protectively. She smiled at his jealous-esque move and he kept his eyes on the three men.

"Addison!" Bailey was the first to hug her.

Addison hugged back awkwardly. "This is Pete Wilder. My...uh.." Addison trailed off, unsure of what to call her colleague. "Person. Pete is my person."

Pete raised his eyebrows, amused. At the sound of their special word, Meredith and Christina looked up. After a quick once-over, they turned away.

"He's hot," Meredith said simply.

"Duh, she's hot. Everyone that she's been with is hot," Christina answered bitterly.

"No joke. Derek, Mark, and Alex," Callie had officially entered their conversation.

"Alex?" Meredith said amused, and Christina said, "Eww."

Callie shrugged. "I thought everyone knew. Haven't you seen the way he's been glaring at the two of them?"

Meredith and Christina whirled around. Sure enough, Alex was staring at Addison and Pete with narrowed eyes.

And in a matter of minutes, Everyone knew Alex had slept with Addison.

"Did you really sleep with Alex?" Derek asked. Addison looked at Pete.

Derek held out his hand, "I don't think we've met. I'm Derek, Addison's ex-husband."

Addison groaned. Pete didn't shake his hand. "Oh, so you're the jackass who let her get away. Thank you. I'm Pete," he paused dramatically," the gladiator."

Addison snorted. "I knew you always had a thing for fighters," Derek said snottily.

"Alright well, I hate to leave the fun, but I have work tomorrow. We'll catch up after work. How long are you here?"

"Two weeks," Mark answered.

"The two longest weeks of my life," Addison groaned. Pete put his arm around her and led her out.

--

"See that wasn't so bad, now was it?" Pete squeezed Addison's shoulders and smiled. Addison looked up and glared. Pete picked up his hands in mock defeat.

"Ok, chill. You're working all these two weeks. You won't even know they're here."

Addison shook her head. "No, if I know Derek, Mark AND Alex, I will know they're here."

They had arrived at Addison's gorgeous beach house. Pete followed her inside as if he lived there. He might as well, Addison thought.

"Maybe that's just it," Pete reasoned as he got her an asprin and a glass of water. "Maybe you didn't know them."

Addison took the Advil and water. "And maybe, just maybe you're insane." She swallowed the pill quickly. "How did you know I had a headache?"

Pete shrugged. "You were doing that forehead scrunching thing that you do only when you're in pain. I figured asprin helps everything. Especially-"

Addison pressed herself close to Pete and caught his lips with hers. She gripped his neck tightly. The kiss was soft, comfortable.

Pete moved a lock of hair behind her ear. "What did I do to deserve that?" he asked quietly.

Addison grinned sarcastically. "Well, you were doing that overtalking thing you do when you get nervous."

Pete blushed. To cover it up, he reached to Addison's hip and tickled her. She squealed like a little girl and scampered up the stairs. Pete caught her and spun her around and they laughed.

And Addison knew she was going to be ok.

--

"So, you and Addison, huh?" George stood next to Alex, fidgeting a little.

Alex clenched his fist. "If one more person asks me that, I swear I'll-"

"Calm youself. Everyone knows, and Derek and Mark are too mad to ask you anyway. The worst they'll do is attack you."

"Thank you, O'Malley. This trip just keeps getting better and better."

"Why? Because your one true love was dancing and kissing her own Prince Charming?" Christina asked, grinning.

"Back the fuck up," Alex ordered, clenching his square jaw.

Christina's jaw dropped. "You did love her, didn't you? You lovesick bitch!" she cackled maniaclly and ran away, obviously to tell Meredith the amazing news. Fucking idiots.

He did love Adison, kinda. But that's why he let her go. Obviously, he didn't have to be so mean about it, but that was his style. But seeing her again, all tanned and as sexy as ever, made him want to cry, in the manliest sense he could think of.

Not that falling in love with the most desired woman in Seattle, and now LA was manly. It was dumb. Really really dumb.

"Do you wanna talk?" Alex looked down to see Bailey, formerly known as the Nazi, actually looking concerned for his emotional well-being. Huh. That's weird.

He sat down dejectedly, and Bailey followed.

"What do you think of Pete?" he asked.

"I think he's perfect for her, actually," she said truthfully. "Not that you asked, of course. Because you would never ask that." Alex groaned and put his head in his hands.

Bailey watched impatiently. "Are you going to elaborate?"

"I thought you don't want to hear about our love lives," he said.

"Normally I wouldn't, but when in Rome,"

"We're in LA."

"Just get on with it, will you?"

Alex stood up. "Actually, I think I better go."

Bailey nodded, clearly pleased with his self control. "Good night, Karev."

"Good bye Dr. Bailey."

And he walked out of the bar with no intention of coming back.

--

I think this is the longest update I've EVER done Bahahahah.  
Now, review for me. I'll give you a treat. :) A delicious one. And review and tell me if you want Addisex or Paddison. 


	2. CrushCrushCrush

A/N: thanks for all the reviews. I got loads of votes, more from Private Messages than reviews, and it was an overwhelming ADDEX. But it will still be an extremely hard decision. :P

Disclaimer. Dawn is mine. That's it.

--

"Wake up," Addison beat Pete over the head roughly with a feather pillow.

"What do you want?" he asked, his voice muffled by the blanket that covered up his miffed hair. "Coffee? Anything, just let me sleep."

"It's nine," Addison said simply

Pete bolted out of bed, picking up his shirt at the doorway.

"I have a patient at nine thirty!" he yelled from the shower.

"Why else do you think I got you up, idiot?"

He poked his head out of the steamy bathroom. "That's not a very nice way to treat your boyfriend."

Addison almost choked on her coffee. "You are not my boyfriend," she yelled through the door.

She heard the lock click and smiled triumphantly, thinking he had locked her out. But he pulled the door open and pulled her in.

He had a fluffy green towel wrapped around his lower half, but his torso was bare. And muscular.

But Addison paid for her moment of weakness. Pete swung her into the shower's path and she screamed, the hot water splashing in her face. Her pajamas were soaked, and she thanked God they weren't see through.

Pete let her go and she jumped out of the shower. She stripped off her pajama pants and her shirt, and was left standing in her bra and underwear.

Pete stared, awestruck, thinking she was going to strip bare. Instead, the doorbell rang and she grabbed his shirt that was on the floor.

She tugged it on and Pete grinned, amused that the shirt only barely covered her purple lacy undies.

He dressed (as much as he could without his shirt) and went to see who was at the door.

"What do you mean, he called you?" Addison was saying. She was frantic, he could tell, she was repeatedly running her fingers through her wet hair and normally tanned skin was milky white.

"He called to say goodbye," Naomi explained.

"He doesn't even have your number," Addison exclaimed.

"I gave it to him," Naomi said guiltily.

"Well, where is he?" Addison looked like she was ready to pass out.

"Oh his was home, I suppose," Naomi said. "He had the opprotunity to learn from your mentor here. Something made him give up the opprotunity of a lifetime."

"Hey Nai," Pete said, nervously standing next to Addison, who looked ready to drop. He tried to put a steadying hand on her waist, but she shrugged it away.

Naomi's phone lit up and she opened it. Then she passed it to Addison.

"Tell Addison I love her: Dr. Karev."

This time, Addison really did faint.

Pete barely caught her before she hit the floor.

"Guess the honeymoon's over," Naomi said, kneeling next to her unconcious best friend.

--

"How many airports are there in LA?" Addison asked her GPS system.

"I'm sorry, we can not calculate your request," the monotone voice replied.

"ARGH!" Addison punched the off button.

"4." Pete answered grimly, rolling down the window to the already convertible car.

"What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing, I'm just worried about your..docor person?" It wasn't supposed to come out like a question, but thats what it sounded like. He was questioning why he had even offered to come along.

THen he looked at her perfect tearstained face and remembered when she didn't find her Dr. Karev, he would be there to catch her and. And kiss her. And --.

"Hey Richard," Addison said into her phone, trying to sound cheerful. "Would you mind telling me which airport you came from?" Silence. Addison fidgeted nervously in her seat. "No, I havent heard from Karev. Ok, I'll keep an eye out. Ok, bye." She closed her phone and shuddered. "He's pissed!"

"Well, his employee ran off, I would be pissed too," Pete stared out the open window.

"You seem pretty pissed off already," Addison answered critically. "Why are you so angry at me?"

Pete slammed his hand on the dashboard, the first time Addison had ever seen him lose his temper. She flinched noticeably, and he immediately felt bad. "Nothing."

Addison smiled. She hadn't smiled in so long, she felt like her muscles forgot how to. "Liar," she said softly.

Pete looked down at his new jeans. He could faintly smell Addison on his shirt. And that was the way he wanted to keep it. "I'm just cranky," he said, smiling his playful smirk. "You woke me up early remember?"

He reached over and gripped her hand tightly. Addison smiled, but inside she couldn't help but wonder what he wasn't saying.

--

The beginning of the day at the office had been uneventful. Completely uneventful and boring. Dell buried his head in his hands, hoping that when he looked up, something time worthy would materialize.

"Um, excuse me?" Dell straightened up and opened his eyes. An unbelieveably pretty girl in a faded pink bikini top and jean shorts stood before him. Her hair was piled up in a bun, and her eyes glittered blue and bright against her tan skin.

Hello time worthy.

"Um, I'm looking for Addison Montgomery-Shepherd," she said, her voice strong. She seemed genuinely amused in his preence. Odd girl.

"She isn't here, but you're welcome to wait," he said, gesturing to the sprawling waiting room in front of him.

She immediately plopped down on the chair, humming a tune, something he vaguely recognized. After sneakily watching her for the better part of an hour, she spoke, "You can come talk to me, if you'd like."

Dell flushed, and took a seat next to her. "I dont need your invitation, you know," he said.

"Then why are you still red from my comment?" she asked shrewdly, raising her eyebrow.

"Sunburn?"

She laughed, a wonderful melodious laugh that made his feet tingle.

"I'm Dell," he said, sticking his hand out.

She shook it firmly. "I'm Dawn."

Dell leaned back, relishing the refreshing feeling of something, or someone, time worthy.

--

You aren't leaving," Addison said, stomping her foot. "I'm not going to let you."

"Why does it matter to you, anyway?" Alex asked, slightly embarrased that she had followed him when he hadn't followed her.

"Its that...Well...um...It just matters, ok?" She was about to have another breakdown, he knew. Her eyes were tired and red, and she was desperatly trying to hide the fact that she had already cried over him. She was dressed in bright colors. Clothes made her feel better. Her lips, her gorgeous lips, were turned down, her signiature facial expression before she would burst into tears.

He had seen that look on her face from Derek and Mark, and he had vowed he would never do that to her. Well, that just showed how much of an asshole he was.

Addison thought briefly that she was glad Pete was waiting in the car, or he would have liked to hit Alex though he never said, she knew he was jealous. She would like to tell him he had nothing to worry about. But she would be lying.

She loved Alex, and that's all she thought about when he kissed her.

His hands were cupped around her tearstained face, and the kiss was familiar and comforting. She had missed the way he tasted. Nothing could ever replace this.

When he pulled away, Addison did that cute nose thing she did when she wanted to smile. Her nose would twitch a little, just like the corners of her mouth, but she would resist the goofy grin threatening to break across her beautiful face. Then she frowned.

"What?" he asked leaning into her. Their foreheads were touching; he could count her eyelashes if he wanted to.

"Pete," she said.

He stiffened and pulled away. "What about him?" He had a feeling...

"He's in the car."

He stepped away completely. "Great. I can still catch my plane."

Addison reached out and caught his arm. "Don't be like that."

"Are you kidding me?" he looked like he wanted to yell. Or cry. I'm not like Meredith. I'm pretty sure you're not either. I'm not going to sit around and watch you be with a guy you don't love."

"But I do love him!"

"Now you're acting like Derek. You can't have everyone," he moved to walk away.

Addison yelled after him. "Do you know how hard it was, leaving you behind? You broke me, Alex, and Pete was here to pick up the pieces. He showed me I could be loved, something you never quite learned how to do." Her hair had fallen around her face and the tears were making stray hairs stick to her face and neck. "Besides, I'm sure you can be happy with Rebecca."

"I don't want Rebecca." He yelled back. "I love you. But if you can't pick, then I'm leaving."

Addison hesitated.

"Ok then," he said and boarded the plane.

"Alex!" She yelled, tears stinging her eyes and blurring her vision. Someone wrapped their arms around her waist and she looked to see Pete and sobbed, wishing so much that it was Alex.

--

"You gonna be ok?" Pete asked, his hand on Addison's shoulder.

No answer

"Addie?" Pete looked over, concerned. Addison was fast asleep, her head leaning against the window.

Addison didn't have to know that he had heard everything that had transpired in the airport terminal. But he realized that, while she had said she loved him, she was a millisecond away from picking Alex oer him. He needed ot fix that.

He was going to be the best not-boyfriend she'd ever had.

He started by taking her home and carrying her to bed instead of taking her to work and waking her up.

--

By that evening, Dell and Dawn had learned almost everything they needed to know about each other.

Dawn had lived in New York for her whole childhood until she came to California for a summer and fell in love with surfing. Now, at 26, she was a professional singer and was moving out to LA. Her favorite color was blue, like the ocean, and she loved to read.

Dell had lived in LA his whole life, and grew up loving the surf. At 28, he was sad to say he was still in school studying to be a midwife, but it was what he loved and was willing to endure all ridicule. His favorite color used to be green, but he changed it on a whim to blue, the color of Dawn's eyes.

"I guess Addison's not coming in today, huh?" she remarked playfully.

"Oh," Dell had forgotten Dawn had come here to see Addison. "Guess not. Well," he ventured, hoping he wasn't going too far," you can stay with me, if you want."

Dawn blushed, the first time she had ever blushed in his presence. "Sure."

She brightened. "Let's go eat. Know any good vegitarian places?"

"Veggie girl too?" Dell smirked. "Do you save whales on the weekends?"

"When I'm not too busy."

Dawn laughed. She took him by the hand and took off down the hall, yelling, "Eat carrots, free the whales!" Over and over again.

Cooper stuck his head out of his office. "Sorry," Dawn said, her lips twitching as she struggled to keep a straight face, "I've escaped from the crazy wing, because," she lowered her voice significantly, "I'm not crazy. OH! You know what a great word is? Flaccid. Wonderful word, flaccid." She continued down the hall, yelling, "Bye, farewell, avoid roasted cabbage, don't eat earwax, and look on the bright side of life."

Dell shrugged at Cooper, grinning stupidly.

"She's hot," Cooper said. "Crazy, but hot."

Dawn came tearing down the hall, taking Dell with her.

"Dinner awaits!" she shrieked.

--

Dell never knew vegitarian food could taste so good. Or maybe it was because he wasn't even paying attention. He was too busy watching Dawn, who had been halfway mobbed by fans and was now signing some little girls autograph book.

"Here," she whispered, handing her a twenty dollar bill, "Go buy an Einstien bear for me, genius." She ruffled the girl's hair as she skipped away.

"You don't even know what you're eating do you?" Dawn giggled.

Dell looked down in alarm. "Should I be afraid?" he asked.

"Do you even know what tofu is?" she asked, raising an eyebrow skeptically.

"No."

"Then I'm not telling you."

"I know there's egg in it," he commented, poking at a piece of hard boiled egg.

Dawn laughed. "Tofu is the meat, not the whole meal."

"Oh," Dell thought for a second. "I thought it wasn't meat."

Dell flicked a little piece of egg at Dawn, who squealed. She flicked a piece of faux-meat at Dell, and he gaped in an exaggerated manner.

Dell stood and threw Dawn over one shoulder, who thought it was immensly hilarious. He walked to the front.

"Check, please." 


	3. Hallelujah

Well, I am extremely hurt. No one reviewed. :((((((((((((((((

--

Pete watched Addison sleep with a semi-smile on his face. Her red, tear-stained face seemed to almost match her hair color, and her hands, which were folded beneath her, seemed pale im comparison. She stiffed, moving her flyaway hair away from her face.

"What time is it?" she whispered, and Pete felt his heart break. She sounded broken.

"Seven thirty." He hesitated. "Are you hungry?"

"A bit."

He pulled her to her feet and led her downstairs. "Sit, I'll cook."

She almost smirked. "You don't cook."

"Just because you haven't seen me cook doesn't mean I can't."

Addison laughed at the absurd thought. But her laugh sounded forced, hollow.

After ten minutes of trying to make Addison laugh, with no such luck, Pete placed a sandwhich in front of her. "You're a wonderful sandwhich cook." she said, almost giggling.

"I should have gone pro."

She finally laughed, and though her laugh was still kind of forced, it was the closest thing to genuine happiness he had seen in hours.

Alas, happiness. How it eludes us.

--

"Are you gonna carry me all the way to your house?" Dawn asked from behind a curtain of red hair. She was still over Dell's shoulder, her legs kicking aimlessly.

"Stop squirming and I'll let you down," he instructed, and she immediately went limp. Dell set her down and she promptly took off, sprinting faster than anyone he'd seen.

"Where's your house?" she yelled back to him.

"Go left!"

Dawn immediately veered to the left, crashing though brush.

"Third house on the right."

He found her on the porch, kicking at the sand and not even panting. "You're slow," she commented, skipping adorably past him into the living room, her red hair leaving a scent of cinnamon behind her. Dell shut the door quietly behind him and found Dawn sitting serenely on his couch.

"I like your couch," she said, kicking her feet up. "Mind if I chill here?"

"Be my guest." Dell walked into the closet and picked up a blanket and a pillow. He tossed the blanket on her, and smiled. She was already asleep. He lifted her head and she opened her eyes.

"Hello." she said, smiling at his red face.

"Good night," he said, handing her the pillow.

"It smells like you!" she called to him as he walked back to his room.

--

Addison looked at the clock again. 3:42 AM. The second night she had gone without sleep. She shut her eyes and prayed for sleep to come.

But it didn't.

She reached over blindly and scrambled around with her long fingers until she found her cell phone and dialed a phone number she knew all too well.

"Hello?" A groggy voice answered.

"Pete?" Addison's voice sounded empty, forlorn.

"What's wrong?" he seemed a lot more awake now.

"Nothing." Addison seemed to be hesitating.

"You can't sleep can you?" he said knowingly.

"The mighty quack knows all," she smiled a little into her fluffy pillow.

"Give me ten minutes, I'll be right there."

"Pete, wait!"

But he had already hung up.

--

Ten minutes later, Pete walked into her room like he owned the place and laid next to her.

He wrapped his strong arms around her and started talking.

"You know when I first met you, I thought you were the hottest thing I had ever seen," he felt Addison giggle next to him. "That red hair, your eyes. Your incredibly long legs. And then you started babbling. And I concluded you were insane." Another giggle. "And Sam told me to leave you alone. And then I kissed you in the stairwell. I would have to say that is the best kiss I've ever had." This time, she moved closer to him and entertwined his fingers with hers. "And remember when Charlotte had insomnia? When she just wouldn't stop bitching?"

"I enjoyed that."

"Hush, I'm putting you to sleep. Anyway, that kiss I got that night from you, the one that you just walked away from? Reminded me of how my wife would kiss me. Soft and sweet. And that time we were locked in the Dell vault?" he sighed, pressing himself even closer to her. "I miss those days. Our flirty days. I want those days back. Because when I see you cry, it makes me want to cry. And seeing you sad makes my heart break. And I sound like a complete idiot right now," Pete laughed, but Addison was motionless.

"Addie?"

Silence. Until Addison snored a little.

"That's what I thought." Pete touched her face lightly and settled down, letting himself sleep.

--

At 5:30 AM, only an hour and a half after Addison and Pete fell asleep, Dell was hit in the face by a short stream of very cold water.

"Wake up sleepyhead," Dawn said, bouncing up and down on his bed until she tripped and landed on top of him. "Oof."

"Why am I getting up at this ungodly hour?" Dell asked, trying to regain the breath Dawn's body had knocked out of him.

"Let's surf."

"Do you ever sleep?"

"Do you ever do something spontaneous?"

"How about we go to the beach? We can surf later," Dell got up and Dawn bounced out of the room, humming. He saw something bright on the floor and picked it up. A bright pink water gun.

He found Dawn sitting on the couch, scribbling madly away in a blue notebook.

"That's what you get when you let your heart win..." she sang quietly.

"What are you doing?"

"Nothing," Dawn snapped her notebook shut and got up. "I was inspired."

"Ready?"

Dawn grabbed his hand and ran out the door. "Always."

--

Alright, well, since no one reviewed, I overruled and made this a Paddie fic. NOW REVIEW DAMN IT! 


	4. For a Pessimist, I'm Pretty Optimistic

A/N: Well, now that I made this a Paddie fic, I've gotten LOADS of reviews. WHOO. Those of you who mentioned that Paramore rocks, yes, I know. Remember that Dawn was a singer? She's singing Paramore songs and maybe one Avril song. Because as bubbly as someone said she was, she does have hidden issues. So does everyone. Those of you who don't really like Dawn, I'm sorry. She's like me put into the story, and I love Dell, so :P. And Alex will be mentioned again, but I don't think he'll be making anymore appearances. And if I do write a sequel, it will be Dawn/Dell mostly, with Pete/Addie of course. Because I think Pete/Addie are a lot closer to a happily ever after then the other two.

--

Pete woke up to an empty bed. A very empty bed that was definitely not his own. He looked around and found a sticky note attached to the place where Addison had slept.

"Dear Pete. Went to work early. There's coffee downstairs, and I think I might have some gross tea somewhere. :) Thanks for yesterday. You can cure insomnia. -A"

Pete smiled. He rolled out of her bed and looked back at it, then jumped back in. He smelled her pillow, and groaned into it. He really really did not want to go to work today. He wanted to stay here and smell her pillow all day long.

But he glanced at her smiley and shot back out of bed.

Coffee time.

--

"So what happened?" Naomi asked again. She had made Addison recall this many times, and was surprised to find Addison completely calm.

"He told me to choose. And because I hesitated, he left. Which is probably a good thing anyway, right? I mean, if he had stayed, we would have had all that crap that had happened in Seattle and he probably would have pulled a McSteamy and cheated and then it would have been worse and I would have ended up sleeping with Pete anyway...Oops." she covered her mouth with her hand and silently cursed her sleep deprived rambling.

"Please, PLEASE, tell me you didnt just say what I think you just said."

"Ok, I really REALLY didnt just say what you think I just thought you said? Did I say that right?"

"I dont think so." Naomi still frowned at Addison's pathetic attempt at a subject change. "What happened?"

"Nooothin'," she grinned and Naomi glared. "Oh, come on Nai, don't you trust me?"

"Normal Addison, yes. Depressed Addison makes bad decisions, so no, I don't. Well, I trust half of you," she amended herself.

"Was that an insult?"

The women laughed and Addison sipped her third cup of coffee that day. It felt good to be awake.

"No seriously, what happened?" Naomi raised an eyebrow at Addison sternly, daring her to change the subject.

"I couldn't sleep so I called Pete, you know just to see if he had any herbal juju that would help me sleep," Naomi nodded, seemingly interested. "Then he said he was coming over. I told him no, but he had already hung up." Naomi sat up a little straighter in her chair. "And he laid down next to me and talked to me about how hot I was when he first met me until I fell asleep. End of story." Naomi looked expectantly at Addison, who was still grinning that smirk of hers.

"That is so not everything."

Addison looked surprised. "Of course it is. I wouldn't lie to you."

"It's lying by omission. Don't have sex with Pete!"

"Don't have sex with your ex-husband!" Childish, yes, but effective? Hell yes. Naomi glared at her and fled, unwilling to tell Addison about Sam. That was for another day, another cup of caffeine sunshine.

--

"What do ya think?" Dawn twirled, her red hair spinning around her face. She was wearing a cutoff jean skirt that barely covered her muscular thighs and a baggy t-shirt that said: "Anteaters need love too!" Even with the baggy shirt, she was still beautiful. She wore no shoes, but her toes were painted a sexy dark red, the same color as her hair. Aforementioned hair was in drying ringlets around her face and her face was clear of makeup.

"Amazing. Let's go," he pulled a pink water pistol out of his pocked and shot her in the face with it.

She screamed giddily and ran to the car, cranking up the radio.

"I'm on the radio!" she screamed out the window, as Dell was walking up.

"I never wanted to say this. You never wanted to stay. I put my faith in you so much babe and then you, just threw it away!"

Her phone jingled and she twisted and squirmed until it fell out of her back pocket. Dell looked over at her and turned the radio down.

"What?!" she snapped nastily. Dell glanced over, alarmed. This was the first time he had ever heard her angry. "No, I'm not in New York. I'm not going to tell you where I am." Silence. Then she sighed, exasperated. "I'm not with Zane." She smiled ironically. "You don't have a damn GPS tracker on me. What are you going to do!?" She snapped the phne shut and threw it to the floor around her bare feet.

Dell fidgeted a little in his chair. He reached over to turn the music up, and Dawn didn't even notice. She just stared out the window. After a few minutes of silence, Dell spoke.

"Are you ok?"

Dawn kept her eyes out the window. "My mom and dad are more concerned with keeping their reputations intact than caring what happens to me and my sister. Being an alternative rock singer is almost like suicide to their reputations. Anyone I dated had to be inspected. My mom is a fun-sucking carnivore that has a heart of ice, and my dad is really pretty cool. He has a girlfriend that I really like, but my mom just sticks around, because a divorce is bad for the family."

They were sitting in the parking lot. Dell switched off the car. He got out and shut the door behind him. Dawn made no move to follow. He walked around to the other side and opened her door.

"Thanks," she said.

She started to say something else, but Dell stopped her. He reached out and wrapped his strong arm around her waist and hugged her tightly. She looked into his blue eyes and interlocked her fingers around the back of his neck and kissed him softly. He pulled her closer so they were closely pressed together. Her lips were soft and tasted like the decaf coffee she had had this morning. He could barely smell her perfume, the smell of the ocean. He ran his fingers through her hair until he reached her neck, and left his hand there, tangled in her hair and all.

Dawn almost smiled into the kiss. Dell's lips were slightly rough, because he bit his lip when he was nervous. He tasted like coffee, and she could smell the ocean, but she suspected that was from her. She desperately needed air, but was willing to suffocate.

She reluctantly pulled back. She left her eyes closed while she sucked in a few deep breaths. Her head was spinning. Dell hadn't let go of her. She liked being this close to her.

Dawn was notorious for falling for guys way to fast. None of her relationships turned out quite the way she wanted, and she didn't want to jinx anything, but she was pretty sure she was going to fall in love with the man holding her right now.

--

Dell walked into the meeting ten minutes late. Normally he would be mortified, but after his amazing morning, he could take on anything.

"Nice of you to join us, Dell," Sam said, a little smugly.

"It is, isn't it?" he smiled, and the room's attitude changed dramatically. Everyone looked at him. Except for Naomi.

Dell took a seat between Addison and Violet. "You have a visitor," he said to Addison. She looked slighlty alarmed, but nodded all the same.

Dell sat in content silence as everyone made small talk about the day. He replayed the kiss over and over again in his mind. When he finally tuned back into reality, Addison was the only one still there.

"Visitor." she said to his questioning look

"Right," He stood up and she followed him down the hall.

"Addison?"

"Dawn?"

The two redheads surveyed each other warily, then connected in a rush of red hair and lithe limbs.

"I've missed you.

--

Reviews are like cake. But without the fattening. 


	5. Miracle

A/N: I know its been a while, but bear with me. I have soooo much crap to do its not even the SLIGHTEST bit amusing. So, I read all the reviews I've gotten and I've kind of got my idea back on where I would like this story to go, and I hope I didn't lose too many readers because of my insane schedule. I've been up in California doing some INSANE Broadway practice and workshops. So…..without further ado….CHAPTER!

Dell smiled as he watched Addison embrace Dawn, who, it was obvious to him now, was her younger sister. They had the same hair, aristocratic bone structure, and ski-slope nose. He watched Dawn loop her arm through Addison's and lead her out the door, presumably to eat some vegetarian nonsense.

"Hey Dell," Pete pulled Dell rather reluctantly out of his reverie. "Have you seen Addison?" Dell pointed to the door.

"She just left." He frowned at Pete's frazzled look. "Why?"

Pete sat down at a spare chair in the waiting room. A patient was standing at Dell's normal post at the desk, but he ignored her. "I want to plan something for her, but I don't know what to do."

Dell, still resolutely ignoring the woman impatiently tapping her out of season shoes on the floor, took a seat next to Pete. "What do you mean, plan something? Like what?"

Pete told Dell everything that had happened the past few days, including the confrontation at the airport, the night he spent at Addison's, and how she seemed to be all better the next morning. Dell listened intently the whole time, tapping his foot to the song Dawn was singing that morning. He almost smiled as he thought of her. Her soft, light pink lips. Her muscular, tanned body. Her love of the ocean. He blinked a few times when he realized Pete was looking at him, waiting for a response.

"I have an idea," Dell said, walking towards the desk. The lady tapped her fingers on the wood, and he flinched a little. "Will you chill out for a second? I'm busy!" The lady looked appalled, then walked down the hall, presumably to complain to Sam about how disrespectful Dell was. But Dell didn't even mind. He knew it was about time he stopped trying to please everyone and start doing things to please himself. He started by calling a number he had just programmed into his phone yesterday night.

"Insane asylum, Dawn speaking," she chirped. She was chewing on something, and Dell assumed she was with Addison.

"Hey Dawn, its Dell. I need a favor, and I need you not to tell Addison. Ok?" Dell said quickly. He relayed to Dawn the idea he had come up with, and why Pete needed to call in a favor so badly.

"Alright, I won't say anything. I know just what to do. Me and Addison will be back at the office in about an hour, and then we can go do something during your break, ok?" Dell smiled.

"Ok. Sounds great. Have fun." He set the phone back on its cradle. He sighed. Helping himself and helping others at the same time felt wonderful. Not only did her have plans with a beautiful girl later, he was helping a friend. He sat down at his desk and started pulling files for everyone, still humming.

"Who do you think you are?" someone asked, rather rudely.

Dell looked up to see Sam, who looked positively furious. "Excuse me?" he asked, not unkindly.

"You come in late to work, and then you ignore a patient and expect everything to be just ok?" Sam fumed. "I've had it with your disrespectful attitude. You're fired!" He turned on his heel and left, leaving Dell shell-shocked in a pile of filing.

"So how is LA?" Dawn asked, crunching on broccoli. "Is it better than Seattle?"

Addison nodded into her cup of coffee. Her little sister had finally made her dream come true, and had kept their promise and came to visit. She was doing positively great. "How had New York been without me?" she asked.

"Crappy."

"Ahh, well, there's no beach there, so I can imagine what you thought of it." Addison grinned at her sister's beautiful face.

"And mom called me today."

Addison stiffened. "Why?"

" I didn't tell her where I was going when I left, and now she wants me to come home," Dawn shrugged and stabbed a piece of carrot rather violently.

"And Zane?" Addison asked of Dawn's old boyfriend.

"Lame. And hopefully in jail by now."

"Why?" Addison raised her eyebrows. "Did you ever go to the police about--?"

"No!" Dawn immediately interrupted her. "I just left him in New York like I left mom and dad."

Addison smiled proudly at her sister. Her sister had become stronger that she thought. "So where are you staying?" she asked.

"With Dell," Dawn said simply, as though it was no big deal.

"How do you know Dell?" Addison asked, raising her perfectly arched eyebrows.

"I met him yesterday. While I was waiting for you to come into work, which you never did," Dawn poked her sister amiably with her fork. "Why, is it a problem?"

"No. Nope," Addison said. "He's pretty hot."

"And he's a good kisser," Dawn said dreamily.

Addison gaped, then tossed a piece of carrot at her sister. "You little slut!" she exclaimed.

"Hey, I didn't sleep with him, I just kissed him. Jeez," Dawn laughed and pulled the piece of carrot out of her shirt and pelted it back at her sister. The two cracked up and laughed until tears came out of their eyes and their abs hurt like they had just done a thousand crunches. That was one thing they missed about their relationship. They could laugh about anything for the longest time.

It should be in the Guiness Book of World Records.

"We should be getting back," Dawn said, checking Dell's watch that hung around her wrist. "I have a cute boy to meet."

A/N: this was short chapter, but I wanted there to be a little suspense before the surprise. So review and maybe ill update later today!

CHEERS


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